Breakside Brewery Announces Staffing Changes

Chris Furnari

Sep. 22, 2015 at 1:25 PM

Portland, Oregon-based Breakside Brewery today announced the hiring of Ray Veillet as the company’s first ever chief operating officer.

Prior to joining Breakside, Veillet served as the vice president of operations at Siteworks Design Build, the same architecture firm that helped to design Breakside’s Milwaukie production facility. At Siteworks, Veillet oversaw general operations including accounting, human resources, information technology and legal.

“I was drawn to Breakside because of its unlimited growth potential,” Veillet said in a press statement. “Its dedication to creativity and experimentation have already earned it a reputation as one of the best breweries in the state. I’m just excited to contribute to its future.”

Breakside also announced the promotion of brewer Will Jaquiss, who will now lead the company’s research and development efforts. A graduate of the Siebel Brewing Institute, Jaquiss will help oversee brewing operations — including scheduling and recipe development — at Breakside’s Dekum pub. He’ll also manage the barrel program and brewing operations on the company’s 30-barrel brewhouse at Breakside’s Milwaukie production brewery.

The company also hired Nick Munson-Phelps, a former brewer at Laurelwood Brewing, as its new lead brewer.

Breakside isn’t the only beer company strengthening its executive roster with top-level talent — craft breweries have been on a hiring spree in recent months.

Breakside Brewery is the invention of Scott Lawrence and Tony Petraglia. Some mutual friends introduced the two after learning they both had a desire to leave their corporate jobs in order to pursue t...